The Gift
by Sake-tan
Summary: "And then her lips touched his, tingling vividly from the magic flowing through them as she kissed him, gentle but determined, and breathed her gift into him." [set directly after the Movie, Dialeficent, planned as a One-Shot, but already a Two-Shot by now]
1. Shot I

**Shot I**

„A dragon? Are you kidding me?! That was incredible!", he started exclaiming the very moment he got his voice back, the rest of his body still in the last stretch of it's transformation.

The pure enthusiasm on his face amused her. She couldn't help but smile as she watched him, skipping and spinning around her, still vibrant with the energy and magic from the fight.

She had rarely to never seen him that thrilled about any of the transformations she had forced him through. He hated all kinds of dogs, horses were alright, but then he didn't like to be ridden on, mice and rats and all sorts of rodents he despised, because he felt inferior in their figure, not to start with insects. That one time she had turned him into a beetle, he hadn't spoken a word with her for seven whole days. Just the memory of it made her suppress a sigh. He was one sensitive raven, after all.

"And you got your wings back, wow, I never imagined you could look that badass!", he chattered on, ignoring the rolling of her eyes and apparently completely forgetting to be all grumpy and stern.

They had left Aurora at her tree, where the three simple-minded fairies had insisted on watching over her sleep. (Not that they were any use, but at least that kept them busy and out of her way.)

And tired she was. One would think that a few hours of dead-like sleep were enough rest for the next weeks. But even they were nothing against the tiredness that came from being part of a major epic battle.

They would talk later, they were in no hurry. The ever ticking clock that had threatened Aurora's time, had finally been silenced. Now Stefan was dead the kingdom of the humans needed a new ruler, a strong but gentle one this time. One to give them back their hope and faith and unite both kingdoms. And Aurora had to know that this was going to be her role.

"Mistress?"

Startled, she looked up.

She had been so indulged in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that Diaval had stopped moving around and stepped closer, now watching her carefully.

"What now?"

Of course she knew what he meant. She looked into his deliberate, respectful face with eyes darker than coals that were so much wiser than she could have ever hoped for, when she had chosen him as her wings long ago.

Suddenly, she felt a warm rush of gratefulness in her chest. He had never left her, even though they both knew, that he would have been able to. But he had stayed, complaining and nagging indeed, but still loyal and faithful, always counseling her well.

"You know I've never thanked you in all those years, Diaval?", she finally said.

He looked seriously surprised.

"Thank me? What for?"

"For being there", she simply replied and stepped closer, her fingers caressing his forehead, then his cheek, before her hands softly cupped his face. His skin felt almost cool to her touch.

Carefully, she studied his face. He stood very calm and still looked rather confused, but also expectant and unafraid of what was to come. And that was, when she made her decision.

She drew in one deep breath and then, very softly, she moved her face to his. Her lips suddenly started glowing a luminescent golden and only soft at first, then stronger she felt the vibrating flow of magic – her magic pulsating through her veins. Oh, how she loved that feeling of pure joy, she never felt more alive than in those very moments.

Only centimeters away she paused for a brief moment. Just looked. He had instinctively closed his eyes, his body tense, not a breath escaping his lungs.

And then her lips touched his, tingling vividly from the magic flowing through them as she kissed him, gentle but determined, and breathed her gift into him.

It was only a short touch, nevertheless she felt him tremble as their bodies met. When she drew back, her fingers moved to her lips, lingering there for a little while, before she lifted the same hand to his heart.

The very moment, she touched him again, a soft moan escaped his lips, just before his strength abandoned him. His eyes fell close and his knees gave way, making him collapse against her. But she had expected this, and she caught him, before he could hit the ground. Carefully she lay him down.

Changing someone's true nature was a energy-sapping process – for both sides.

Gracefully she lowered herself next to him. It wouldn't take too long before he awoke again.

She felt strangely empty, like some part of her was missing. And it was, she had just given away some of her very own true magic, forever. But it would be worth it, she told herself, hastily brushing away the cold feeling that suddenly stirred inside her. He was worth it.

Absently, she brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. When had she become so attached to this… creature? She couldn't recall a certain moment in which she had stopped seeing him as her servant, but rather as her companion. The sadder the following would be, she suddenly thought.

Although he was unconscious, a dreamy, strangely detached expression lay on his face, the usual paleness of his cheeks flushed with pink.

She drew back her hand, when he finally moved again, opening his eyes, immediately finding hers.  
He didn't look anxious at all, only confused and curious. Of course he knew, that she wouldn't let come any harm to him. Well, at least no serious harm.

When she got ready to get up, he sat up, reaching for her arm.

"Mistress?"

She paused, hesitated for one brief moment. Then she leaned closer and kissed him again. A moment longer than the time before, and this time she felt him respond to her touch, his body pushing towards hers.

It took her all her will power to draw back and abrubtly she got up, steadying herself.

With one last smile, ignoring his bewildered expression, she said:

"I thank you for all you have done for me and beg you to accept my gift. You are free to go now."

Then she turned around.

"What? Mis… Maleficent! Wait!"

From the corner of her eye she saw him scrambling to his feet, almost tripping over his own legs in his hasty attempt to come after her.

"I have no intention of leaving you, and you should very well know that yourself!"

But she had made her decision. Yes, she wanted him with her, but only because it was his very own free will. Not because he was still bound to her through some magical and habitual tie.

With one swift motion of her arm, she swept him from his feet, pinning him to the ground.

The aghast expression on his face revealed, that he didn't seem to understand the world anymore.

"But… I thought… Why would you do such a thing, only to…" His voice trailed off.

She started walking.

And suddenly he became angry.

"Maleficent! Don't you dare just stalking away all smug and superior like that just whenever it pleases you, you can't just leave me here like some string puppet of yours!"

He paused to catch his breath. She realized she had stopped moving. His words. They… hurt, she realized with a trace of astonishment. But, no, he would understand.

"You can't just leave me, not after what you've just done and let's not forget that you have to change me back, because you made me this and without you I am lost-"

And then it all happened very fast.

The one moment she still heard his angry human voice, the next moment it was replaced by the shrill craving of the black bird he was. Silence, except for the agitated fluttering of small wings, then a muffled impact.

More silence.

She couldn't resist turning around one last time.

There he stood, human again. Every anger on his face had vanished, replaced by reverent admiration.

"… Maleficent, I don't know what to say…" His voice was so rough with thankfulness he almost couldn't speak.

And then he suddenly knelt down, and bowed his head.

"I accept and thank you for your generous gift. It was a pleasure serving you."

His whole body started contorting, black feathers sprouting from his skin and for one instant his whole figure was one diffuse blur. Where moments ago had been a human, now was a small black raven. He hovered before her for one more instant, then he started soaring.

She closed her eyes, trying to hold back the tears.

When she opened them again, the small black spot was already high above the trees, happily crowing and circling some breeze.

Suddenly she felt very alone.

'I have no intention of leaving you… without you I am lost.'

Would she ever see him again?

* * *

_Wow, no sickfic/ whump, for once, though potential for more in this direction. But we'll see._

_English is not my mothertongue, so feel free to point out any mistakes. Only having watched the movie in German, I didn't really feel like getting the flow, but well._

_I hope you liked it anyways. :)_

_Edit: there will be at least one more chapter, as soon as I am back from holidays in one week. _


	2. Shot II

_What on earth has happened her? Seriously, I'm away for two weeks, and then this! I am overwhelmed by your feedback, thank you so much, you all are too sweet! In fact, this chapter was already written two weeks ago - your reviews and Sweden's forests were quite inspiring ;)_

_As this was actually planned as a One-Shot, the title and the description were not chosen in consideration of Chapter 2, which I am not entirely happy about - but well. They fit alright. Rating goes up to T, though._

_Also, this chapter feels completely different than the first one, for some reason._

* * *

**Shot II**

The trees in this part of the forest were mightier and stronger than any Maleficent had ever seen. Their crowns were so high and their canopy of leaves so thick, that almost no sunrays could pass – and the little light that made it to the ground was dim and weak, litting the whole setting in eery twilight.

No sound was to be heard as Maleficent made her graceful way among the powerful trunks. The birds eschewed this part of the forest, and even the stupid squirrels had realised, that this was no place for their foolish games. Some even said, those trees were so old, they had seen the ancient age of the Fae, a mythical folk the fairies originated from. They had lived long before Maleficent herself was born, in a time where even the trees could walk.

Maleficent raised her hand, shuddering languorously under the cool touch of the trees raw bark. She could feel the life pulsating beneath it, almost like a heartbeat. She closed her eyes, savouring the sweet, moist smell of the forest around her, listening to the singing of the leafes.

And then suddenly, a rustling.

Her heart skipped a beat and for one brief second she froze, then, in one swift movement she swirled around, tensing her body in preparation for an attack and raising her hand, ready to let lose her cumulated magic.

"You!", she hissed incredulously. Her whole nervousness evaporated from one moment to the other, although the tightness remained.

Quickly, she lowered her hand, suddenly feeling very foolish – which she would never show – not to him. Not after what he had done to her.

"You expecting someone?", he asked with a smirk.

There he stood, a slender figure, casually leaning onto a tree, as dark and handsome as she remembered him, grinning as selfconfident as never, like he had never been away for longer than a spyflight.

"You never know in those trees", she said in a voice as cool as ice, struggling to keep the remains of her already gravely fissured composure.

He shrugged nonchalantly and pushed off the tree.

"True, I can see what you mean. All my raven instincts tell me I should be anywhere but here-"

"So why are you not?", she interrupted him harshly. "Why have you not listened to your bloody instincts and stayed in whatever dirthole you've come from. I would have preferred that!" Suddenly her voice was trembling.

"How do you even dare to come back to me after all this time, after six months!"

189 days to be precise, she just kept herself from saying. She broke off, desperately trying to swallow down the tears that dangerously started to moist her eyes. How often had she pictured this scene? How calm and composed she would be. How… superior. She had sworn herself to not say anything like this. To not show him how much she had missed him, how she had hoped for him to come back every single day. How alone she had been. Because she had let him go, so it was her very own fault.

And suddenly he was next to her, all smugness and put-on cockiness gone, taken up only by dismay and realization.

"Oh Maleficent, I had no idea", was all he said, before he pulled her into his arms and held her, while her body rocked with sobs.

* * *

It was not until later that day – the stars were already out, only visible through the small holes of the vivid green ceiling, that they kissed – for the first time after so many days.

At first they both had been somewhat bashful. After Maleficent's crying had stopped, they hadn't really known how to treat each other. So they did what stood to reason, they sat down, side to side, backs on the strongest of the tress, their arms and legs occasionally touching and talked. Talked about what had happened to them in the time they had been separated, what had happened in the country and generally about everything that came to their mind.

He told her about all those lands far away he had been to, where the nature looked different to here, some with mountains so tall, their peaks were high in the clouds, others with a sun so hot, the grass had turned to sand long ago.

"They behave completely different to us, and the words, Maleficent, they speak other words than we do, isn't that one strange thing?", his voice was vibrant with excitement, and Maleficent couldn't suppress a smile, as she saw the sparkling of his eyes.

In return she told him everything that had happened in her homeland. Aurora had been crowned queen six months ago, and had married prince Phillip soon afterwards. Meanwhile, thanks to her own doing – even if she had essentially been the cause for their decay – the moors had come to flourish in their old gorgeousness once again.

Maleficent immediately sensed, how much Diaval had changed. Even if he still wasn't more man than raven, the human part of his definitely had come to play a more important role of his personality. He had come to realize the many advantages of this form – having a voice that actually could form words, being able to use arms, fingers. He even had lost that afflicted expression that he used to have, every time he looked up to the sky.

But most important of all, his relation to her had changed. He seemed to have started seeing himself less as her faithful servant but more as her coequal companion, more on eyelevel. And he had stopped calling her 'mistress'.

Now she was 'Maleficent'. She liked it.

* * *

Despite all of this, it had been her once again, who had made the first step. Old habits died hard, after all.

He had just been talking about some acquaintance of his, she had stopped paying attention a while ago, way too fascinated by the mesmerizing dance of shadows across his face. He had been in the middle of one sentence, when he realized her gaze, the playful smile dangling around her lips.

And as if he had suddenly forgotten how to speak, he went silent immediately, unable to pull his eyes from hers.

And that was when she leaned in to kiss him, so passionate that she heard him gasping for air.

After that, it had been him who had taken the lead, almost, as if he had needed some sort of confirmation or permission. He pulled her close and then pushed her onto the ground, softly but roughly at the same time, his mouth not leaving hers for longer than a second, placing himself on top of her, between her legs.

At first his hands were everywhere on her body, apparently unable to decide which part of her they liked best. Her neck, her back, her breasts, her thighs... She could feel his desire in the way he kissed her and touched her, but he still took his time. He was the prince to his queen.

Ironically, it was at the ribbons of her gown, where his restless hands came to halt for more than five seconds. But eventually he even won that fight.

When it was her turn to help him to get rid off his shirt, her eyes suddenly went wide and she paused.

"How did you get that?", she whispered, her fingers lingering on one dreadful scar that spread over his sternum. One she didn't know.

He opened the eyes he had closed in intimate anticipation before, meeting hers.

"That's one story for another time", he simply said, before kissing her again.

When he finally entered her, their lips were red, their breathing rugged and their heartbeats fast.

* * *

"Don't you ever leave me again", she mumbled before she fell asleep to the sound of his peaceful breathing, the sweet smell of his sweat and the cool touch of his skin on her body, as they lay entwined on the green moss of the forest floor, their naked bodies only covered by starlight and the warmth of their blood.

She didn't hear his "I'll try" anymore.

* * *

_Actually there is more to this chapter – but as I know that I probably won't have time to finish this in the next weeks (I'm off to Iceland in 10 days for 5 weeks) I cut out the sickfic cliffhanger (anyone interested in this direction?), because in case I won't finish, without it the story so far can be left like this. If I actually find time to finish the planned three more chapters, it will just be the start of Chapter 3.  
So - let me know, what you think about this one :)  
_

_Love and cookies,_

_Sake_


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